Method and means for loading and transporting merchandise



May 23, 1939; R. v. SANFORD 2,159,622

METHOD AND MEANS FOR LOADINGQND TRANSPORTING MERCHANDISE Filed June 12, 1936 /4- /4 /l/ fi id 5 /0 3/ I V 5/ ROBE/Pr VJANFOkD A Patented May 23,1939

METHOD AND MEANS FOR LOADING AND TRANSPORTING MERCHANDISE Robert vasanford, Hartford, Conn assignor to v The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of'Connecticut A Application June 12, 1936, Serial No. 84,781

6 Claims, (cl. 105-369) A invention relates to a method and means for loading and transporting merchandise.

cars "and other carriers, and they are usually re- A Fferredto as the fixed-load method and the floating-load method. a

p In the fixed-load method, the merchandise is l o rigidly securedto the floor and sides of a vehicle by means of cleats, braces, and tie members, thus subjecting the merchandise to sudden shocks,

bumpsgand jars during transportation which tend toinjure it, frequently resulting in its break- A 'ingloose from its bracing. This ri id bracing since the braces must be nailed or bolted thereto.

[ Furthermore, thereis considerable loss of time A during loading and unloading of the merchandise 2Q andrigidly securing it imposition.

the; floating-loadmethod, the merchandise A A is boundinto a unit load of such mass or weight that its inertia tends to resist shifting movement, 1 A and insteadof rigidlysecuring it in position to 25 the. floor of the transporting vehicle, the unit load i ,isallowed to'movesomewhat under excessive jars 1 and shocks. In this method, the combined inaertia friction between the load and the ve- A hlcle 'floor is intendedto absorb shocks andjars 30 d prevent undue' and excessive movement of the merchandise during shipment. However, it has been" found, particularly in rail shipment, that the transportation of merchandise by this floating-load methodis not entirely satisfactory due toexcessive shifting movement of the merchanwhich'may cause an accumulated shift or movement of the units from their original position "in great enough-to block the doorways f de end thereby making it almost impossible to re- 1 p the skidsfroin-the car. without difficulty and extra-expense and also causing a very disagree-' one situation at the receivers end. The accumulated movement of the units may also be toward" 45 the endsof the ear,

'merchandiseandthecar.

and means for 'snchmannerthat themerehandiseinaybequickthe shiftingof a loadof merchandisasuch as Askidsofpop'enms'ybeeontrolledandretarded, movement to absorb ,fHeretofore' there. have been two common #methods for supporting merchandise on railwaynot only proves expensive, but .is usually injurious to the floor and walls of the transporting vehicle disc. ;In most cases severe shocks occur in transit, 7

damageto boththe' Itis do m ofmyinv'ention to provide a ,1 I iii-grouped unitlosds'on a vehiclein' A591! easily ioodod and unloadedsnd whereby semeshochQoecur -lngintransittosuch an extent as to-relieve the units from undue strains and stresses, thereby preventing excessive" shifting. y J A With these and other'objects in view, my invention resides in the novel combination and construction of parts hereafter described, illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, and referred to in the appended claims; it being understoodjof course, that the disclosure shown in the drawing a is simply by way of illustration, and various minor 10 details-of constructional changes lying within the scope of the claims may be resortedrto without deviating from the spirit of the invention or sacj rlflcing any of its advantages; A

Referring to the drawing wherein like parts are indicated by like numerals: i g

A Figure 1 is a perspective view showing my invention associated with a plurality of elements; grouped into a unit'ready for shipment; and

a Fig. 2 is a fragmentary view-of one-of the skids arranged tosupport a load element and having an abrasive coated portionadapted to frictionally engage the vehicle floor and restrain movement of the-load duringshipment;

Referring .to the drawing in detail, I have provided a portable shipping platform I ll havinga pair of spaced skids l I rigid] secured to its under side and arranged to engag a vehicle floor and support the platform in spaced relation thereto for convenient; movement. illustrated in the present instance as a rectangular pile of sheet material such aspaper but which may comprise any suitable merchandise, is rigidly secured on the platform ll by means of 9.

series of transversely and longitudinally e'xtending binding straps l4 passing around the load and platform to rigidly secure 1311610841 and platform together. Each of the straps Il may be suitably secured in tensioned relation and fastened together by a sealing member I! of o suitable type and preferably a sealing, member of the type disclosed in the United states patent A toAPrindle No. 1,981,371 issued on November 20, A

1934. The skids u may be provided with spaced cut-away portions It adjacent to the under side A of member llwhereby the transverse binding straps ll may be passed between members II and II. Longitudinal straps H are seeuredin spaced relation and preferably pass along the under side of .member ll adiacent to the'respective skid l0 -members ll.' As shown in Fig. 1, a plurality of I load elements-l2 may be together into a unit load and firmly handed in abutting relationship by binding straps ll passing around the entireload and secured together by seah II. is

A load element n, so

in order that .theshift'mg ofthe loadoffgmer:

chandise may be controlled and restrained, I provide abrasive coated portions 20 on the floor contacting surfaces 2| of skids I l.

able adhesives adapted to quickly dry and harden and provide suitable bonding agents within the range of normal atmospheric temperatures. After the spaced portions on surfaces 21 have been coated with bond, and while it is still wet, abrasive grains ofdesired size andcomposition are sprinkled into the bond, thereby providing a multiplicity of closely spaced sharp projecting teeth which become rigidlybonded to the skid and provide frictional portions thereon. These minute teeth project downwardly from the skids and cooperatively engage the vehicle floor, thereby providing ahigh frictional resistance against movementfor the merchandise without preventing movement of the load in the event that it is subjected to excessive impact. It will be appreciated that the extent of movement of the load may be accurately controlled during shipment so that the loads may be free to move sufficiently to absorb shocks and jars, and yet will not move to inaccessible positions.

After the skids have been prepared, the' merchandise, such as'stacked paper 12, may be located upon the platform Ill and secured in place thereon by the straps M. Then the load may be individually transferred into the transporting vehicle by means of a truck of the lift platform type. The placing of the loads in the car may be easily carried out, there being no necessity of accuratelylocating on the floor and beneath the skids separate movement restraining elements.

All that is necessary is to wheel the load into position, lower the truck, and then pull thetruck out from between the skids. After the elements are positioned within the vehicle, they may be bound into a load unit by the straps or bands l8.

In view of the fact that the abrasivecoatings,

are each com-posed of a multiplicity of minute sharp projecting teeth, it will be appreciated that no damage will be done to the vehicle'floor during shipment, but suflicient friction will be provided to regulate the movement of the unit load. It will be evident that the extent, type, distribution, and sizeiof'abrasive grains forming coating 20, as well as the bond employed may be easily regulated to meet the .demands of any size and type of load which it supports, and, in conse-.

quence, any predetermined degree of friction may the easily obtained so that the extent of load movementis properly restrained and controlled.

It is further to be understood that the bonded abrasive coating on the bottom of the skids is substantially rigid and fixedly secured thereto so that there is no tendency of the bond or coating to distort or deform under impacts during These coatings are preferably composed of a suitable retarding i shipment. This abrasive coating will not adhere to the floor since the bond of itself hardens to a rigid body which is not tenacious or gummy,

and, the abrasive coating produces its frictional characteristics entirely by the cooperative gripping action of a multiplicity of minute sharp projecting abrasive teeth, wherein each of the grains protrudes from'the bond and engages a small portion of the vehicle floor without imparting damage thereto.

It is not desired that the present invention be limited to the herein noted abrasive materials and bonds since it is evident that any type of abrasive material can easily be secured to the bottom of a skid to accomplish the same purdrawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention: 7

1. A shipping unit comprising a load of merchandise, a skid supporting said load and having a bottom face engaging a vehicle floor during transportation, and an extremely. thin layer of bonding material having a granular abrasive surface between said bottom face and the vehicle floor arranged to frictionally retard the movements of saidload relative to the vehicle floor.

2. A shipping unit comprising a load of mer-' chandise, aplurality of skids rigidly secured to and supporting said load, each skid being provided with a bottom face engageable with a vehicle floor during shipment, a layer of bonding material having a granular abrasive surface secured to a portion of the bottom face of each skid and arranged to frictionally engage the vehicle floor whereby movement of the load occasioned by impact will be retarded. I

3. A- shipping unit comprising a group of articles secured together into a load, a portable platform fastened beneath said load, a pluralityof supporting skids rigidly fastened to and supporting the platform, each of said skids having a bottom face slidably engageable with a vehicle floor,-and a coating of bonded abrasive materialrigidly bonded to the bottom of each skid and having a plurality of sharp abrasive teeth projecting therefrom, said teeth cooperatively engaging the vehiclefloor and tending to retard sliding movement of the load under impact.

4. A shipping unit composed of a plurality of load elements, each element including a platform having a plurality of supporting skids rigidly fastenedto the under side thereof, each skid having a bottom face slidably engageable with the vehicle floor,'a coating of bond adhering to the under side of each skid, and a layer of abrasive grains secured in position by said bond and projecting therefrom and providing outwardly pro- Jecting teeth, said teeth cooperatively engaging the vehicle floorto frictionally resist a sliding movement of the load during shipment; and means binding said elements into a unit load.

45. A load supporting skid having a top face adapted to support a load and a bottom face adapted to engage a car floor, said bottom face havingalternate gripping and non-gripping surface areas, said gripping surface comprising a layer of bonding material secured to said skid and a layer of sharp-edged minute particles partially embedded in the surface of said bonding 6. A shipping unit comprising a supporting platform, a plurality of supporting skids fastened to the under face thereof, the lower face of said skids comprising alternate gripping and nongripping surfaces, said non-gripping surface having a greater face area than said gripping surface, said gripping surface comprising a layer ofbondingmaterial secured to said skid face and having minute sharp-edged particles partially embedded in the surface thereof and projecting therefrom to frictionally engage the supp rting surface.

ROBERT V. BANFORD. 

